Somare said he was watching with sadness as Australia and PNG “play football with the lives of refugees on Manus Island”.

“Acts of violence have been perpetrated with impunity and worse still lives have been lost. Yet your governments are indifferent about why people risk so much making the perilous journey to start new lives.”

The founding prime minister of PNG said retirement allowed him the liberty to speak about “the miserable manner in which Australia is trying to offload the Manus Island refugees”.

Australia is a large enough developed economy that should be addressing their problems on their own shores, he said.

“To exploit the vulnerabilities of neighbours like PNG and Nauru is disgraceful enough but to treat human beings with complete apathy is ruthless and insensible. Descendants of many Australians who are opposed to boat people also arrived by boat before and after federation in Australia.

“The hypocrisy is astounding.”

Somare said when he became prime minister for the third time in 2002 an arrangement was already in place to detain and process Australia’s asylum seekers on Manus Island, and he honoured the agreement.

He said the onus was on Australia to ensure the integration of refugees into the small island community of Manus.

“I am sure that many of the refugees are skilled people and with the right assistance can adjust well into our communities,” he said.

Manus island camp is a landscape of surreal horror | Behrouz Boochani

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The detainees are facing their third night without power and water inside the centre. Lawyers representing the group are still seeking a supreme court hearing for their application, alleging their human rights have been breached.

The Guardian understands the lawyers are hoping to meet with PNG government lawyers to find a reasonable solution to the impasse – potentially a short-term reopening of the centre with food, water and security restored, until a more long-term solution can be found.